Universal business to media reservation system, process and standard

This application is a continuation in-part of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/255,513 entitled “UNIVERSAL BUSINESS TO MEDIA RESERVATION SYSTEM” filed on Oct. 21, 2008, which application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/981,760 entitled “UNIVERSAL BUSINESS TO MEDIA RESERVATION SYSTEM” filed on Oct. 22, 2007, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/255,504 entitled “BUSINESS TO MEDIA RESERVATION STANDARD” filed on Oct. 21, 2008, which application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/981,752 entitled “BUSINESS TO MEDIA RESERVATION STANDARD” filed on Oct. 22, 2007, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/255,484 entitled “BUSINESS TO MEDIA RESERVATION BUSINESS PROCESS” filed on Oct. 21, 2008, which application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/981,744 entitled “BUSINESS TO MEDIA RESERVATION BUSINESS PROCESS” filed on Oct. 22, 2007, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

The present invention relates generally to facilitating the reservation of services offered by service providers, and more particularly to brokering of reservations relating to services in any business domain using multiple analog and digital media.

The Internet and other computer networks have proven to be a useful medium for connecting service providers with persons seeking to obtain services. For example, a patient might utilize the Internet to access their doctor\'s office Web site to schedule an appointment, a driver might access a car rental agency\'s Web site via the Internet to reserve a rental car, or a diner might utilize the Internet to access a restaurant\'s Web site to obtain a dinner reservation. In each of the foregoing examples, the scheduling function is integrated with the system that presents information about the available service. Furthermore, access to the system that presents information about the available services may be limited to particular marketplaces. For example, the doctor\'s office, car rental agency\'s, or restaurant\'s Web site might be accessible via a Web portal, but not via a mobile phone portal or a digital television system. Additionally, the clients seeking services may be presented with a myriad of different scheduling systems and processes in order to reserve a variety of differing services since the clients directly interface with the service offering systems.

Accordingly, the present invention provides for a computer network based universal reservation system (CNBURS). The CNBURS provides easy brokering of reservations relating to services between customers and service providers. A “service” may, for example, be considered an arrangement among a service provider and one or more customers by which the customer(s) receives/receive the use of one or more resources from the service provider. Use of the resource(s) may be received by the customer(s) for a scheduled period of time (e.g., for an hour, a day, a week, or the duration of a performance such as a movie, a play, or a sporting event), although it is also possible for the duration of the service to be open-ended. A “resource” may, for example, include a good that is exchanged between the service provider and the customer(s) as well as an activity that is performed for or on behalf of the customer(s). The activity may be performed by one or more individuals, one or more entities, one or more devices, or a combination of individuals, entities and/or devices. In general, a “customer” is any individual or entity that may receive a service from a service provider. The terms “customer” and “client” may be used interchangeably herein. Further, a “reservation” refers to any activity involving scheduling the delivery of a service. A “service provider” may be any individual or entity that possesses resources and is capable of providing the use of those resources to customers. Where the service provider owns a resource, ownership of the resource may be maintained by the service provider during the service.

The present invention provides universality by allowing for the inclusion of every customer who desires to participate and every service provider who desires to participate through every analog and digital media (e.g. newspaper, billboard, Internet, ITV, cell phone, PDA, etc.) and through multiple marketplaces that desire to participate (e.g., universal portals, linked services portals, specialty portals, media portals, etc.).

The CNBURS includes a number of components that communicate with one another via computer networks. The computer networks may, in general, be any public network(s), any private network(s), or any combination of public and private network(s) that provide for the communication of data between devices connected to the network(s). Examples of such computer network(s) include the Internet, private switched telephone networks, cellular telephone networks, cable and satellite television networks, wireless networks, and the like.

The present invention includes various aspects and features. In one aspect, a computer network based universal reservation system enabling one or more customers to reserve services offered by one or more service providers comprises a scheduling agent system, one or more services offering systems, and one or more marketplace systems. The scheduling agent system includes at least one processor, at least one computer network connection and computer program instructions executable by the processor(s) included in the scheduling agent system that enable the scheduling agent system to receive one or more offers of services available for reservation via the computer network connection(s) included in the scheduling agent system. Each service offering system includes at least one processor, at least one computer network connection and computer program instructions executable by the processor(s) included in each service offering system that enable service providers to define one or more offers of services available for reservation with customers and make the one or more offers of service available to the scheduling agent via the computer network connection(s) included in each service offering system. In this regard, an offer of services includes a delegation by the service provider that specifies whether the scheduling agent system is delegated authority on behalf of the service provider to complete reservations with customers relating to the offer of services. Each marketplace system is associated with a marketplace and includes at least one processor, at least one computer network connection and computer program instructions executable by the processor(s) included in each marketplace system that enable each marketplace system to receive via the computer network connection(s) the offer(s) of services from the scheduling agent system, present the customers the offer(s) of services, receive reservation requests from the customers relating to the offer(s) of services, and communicate received reservation requests to the scheduling agent system. The computer program instructions executable by the processor(s) of the scheduling agent system further enable the scheduling agent system to conduct a reservation process wherein the scheduling agent system communicates the offer(s) of services from the service offering system(s) to the marketplace system(s) to provide a connection among the service providers and marketplaces by which marketplaces are provided schedulable time periods relating to services from multiple service providers and wherein the scheduling agent system processes reservation requests received from the marketplace system(s) and to transform the requests into reservations for services provided by the service providers to the customers.

In another aspect, a method for facilitating reservations of services between customers and service providers includes the step of conducting an offer construction process involving one or more service providers and a scheduling agent supplier. The one or more service providers offer services available for reservation by customers using a services offering system and the scheduling agent supplier provides a scheduling agent system to which offers of services are communicated. The services offering system includes at least one processor, at least one computer network connection and computer program instructions executable by the processor(s) included in the services offering system, and the scheduling agent system includes at least one processor, at least one computer network connection and computer program instructions executable by the processor(s) included in the scheduling agent system that enable the scheduling agent to receive the offers of services via the computer network connection(s). The method also includes the step of conducting a marketplace construction process involving one or more marketplace suppliers and the scheduling agent supplier. The one or more marketplace suppliers provide one or more marketplace systems and one or more media for customer communication with the marketplace systems. Each marketplace system is associated with a marketplace and includes at least one processor, at least one computer network connection and computer program instructions executable by the processor(s) included in the marketplace system that enable the marketplace system to receive via the computer network connection(s) the offers of services from the scheduling agent system, present the customers the offers of services, receive reservation requests from the customers relating to the offers of services, and communicate received reservation requests to the scheduling agent system. The method further includes the step of conducting a reservation process wherein a single scheduling agent system operating separately from the marketplace system(s) provides connection among the service providers and marketplaces by which marketplaces are provided schedulable time periods relating to services from multiple service providers and wherein the single scheduling agent system processes reservation requests from customers relating to services offered by the service provider(s) on the marketplace system(s) and presented to the customers through the one or more media to transform the requests into reservations for services provided by the service providers to the customers.

Various refinements exist of the features noted in relation to the various aspects of the present invention. Further features may also be incorporated in the various aspects of the present invention. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination, and various features of the various aspects may be combined. These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon review of the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and further advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following Detailed Description, taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a computer network based universal reservation system presenting involved actors and components;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram showing a business environment with four groups of actors and three component types provided in accordance with the B2M reservation standard;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the architecture of one example of a computing system that may be utilized in implementing various components of the computer network based universal reservation system; and

Continue reading about Universal business to media reservation system, process and standard...
Full patent description for Universal business to media reservation system, process and standard

Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims

Click on the above for other options relating to this Universal business to media reservation system, process and standard patent application.

Patent Applications in related categories:

20090299777 - Hotel reservation system without check-in - A hotel reservation system comprises hotel rooms having combination locks electronically set so as to be openable by any one of a plurality of combination codes whenever the combination code is inputted. A computer system accessible through a telecommunications network allows remote sign-in and reservation of a hotel room for ...

20090299778 - System and method of providing travel service listings - A system and method of providing travel service listings is disclosed. In a particular embodiment, the method includes receiving a request for a particular travel related service and searching a database for at least one travel provider that provides the particular travel related service requested. The method further includes generating ...


###


How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents
1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored.
3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords.  
Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Universal business to media reservation system, process and standard or other areas of interest.
###


Previous Patent Application:
Usefulness
Next Patent Application:
Apparatus, system, and method for collecting metrics from a non-monolithic website
Industry Class:
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or cost/price determination

###

Design/code © 2009 FreshContext LLC/Freshpatents.com. Website Terms and Conditions - Also read: About this Page
Patent data source: patents published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Information published here is for research/educational purposes only (and in conjunction with our Keyword Monitor) and is not meant to be used in place of the full USPTO patent document/images or a comprehensive patent archive search. Complete official applications are on file at the USPTO and often contain additional data/images (Freshpatents is currently text-only). FreshPatents.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO or firms/individuals or products/designs/ideas related to listed patents.

FreshPatents.com Support
Thank you for viewing the Universal business to media reservation system, process and standard patent info.
IP-related news and info


Results in 2.26039 seconds


Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories:
Tyco , Unilever , Warner-lambert , 3m paws